Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in Ralph Lauren Co. (NYSE:RL - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,500 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 14,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Ralph Lauren worth $13,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,657 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ralph Lauren during the third quarter worth $19,320,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Ralph Lauren by 137.4% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,849 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ralph Lauren by 24.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,545 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $17,425,000 after acquiring an additional 16,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Ralph Lauren by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 8,781 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,702,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $285.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cfra Research upgraded Ralph Lauren from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ralph Lauren from $282.00 to $219.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ralph Lauren from $332.00 to $348.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ralph Lauren from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $275.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $277.43.

Ralph Lauren Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of RL traded down $5.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $201.05. 56,938 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 841,750. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $233.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.13. Ralph Lauren Co. has a 12 month low of $155.96 and a 12 month high of $289.33. The stock has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.38.

Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $4.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.36. Ralph Lauren had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 30.88%. Research analysts forecast that Ralph Lauren Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ralph Lauren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Ralph Lauren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.11%.

Ralph Lauren Company Profile

Ralph Lauren Corporation designs, markets, and distributes lifestyle products in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers apparel, including a range of men's, women's, and children's clothing; footwear and accessories, which comprise casual shoes, dress shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, eyewear, watches, fashion and fine jewelry, scarves, hats, gloves, and umbrellas, as well as leather goods, such as handbags, luggage, small leather goods, and belts; home products consisting of bed and bath lines, furniture, fabric and wallcoverings, floor coverings, lighting, tabletop, kitchen linens, floor coverings, dining, decorative accessories, and giftware; and fragrances.